Joint Christmas Message from the Bishops of Clogher

16. Dec, 2002

Joint Christmas Message from the Bishops of Clogher

The celebration of Christmas every year reminds us of the absolute centrality of the person of Jesus Christ for all Christians.

Even in our own country which was evangelised so long ago, we find it difficult to see the reality of a Christian society, measured explicitly on the values of the Gospel. Today we face together a new situation marked by ever increasing ethnic diversity. The danger is that we could get used to a vague form of Christianity that lacks any real reference to Christ and his Church.

The evangelisation of today’s world can only happen with the rediscovery of the personal, social and cultural identity of Christians. That implies, above all else, the rediscovery of Jesus Christ, incarnate Word, and sole Saviour of human kind. This basic conviction enables us to embrace life as it meets us.

The largely secularised culture which is ours today seeks to isolate committed Christians and to blot out the Divine in human relationships. Christians are easily discouraged and slip into bouts of negative fatalism and scattered activism. The reality of the Christmas event enables us all to face the present positively and to live generously and to the full.